Lost in Kirkwall
by roningirl78
Summary: Here is yet another Earth girl goes to Thedas story. A young woman named Jenna appears in Kirkwall with no memory as to how she got there. While there she meets Hawke and friends, Not to mention a particular elf shes met before, in her dreams.
1. Chapter 1

Lost in Kirkwall

Chapter one

Jenna's eyes fluttered open as she sat up quickly in bed, coughing. The image of her sinking boat and the sea water swallowing her up were fresh in her mind. When her vision cleared she noticed two very important facts. One was that she was in a strange bed, and two being that she was naked. She let out a squeak as she pulled the blanket around her slender form.

"And so she awakens, It's not often I find such a lovely creature in my bed."

Startled, she looked up to see two men watching her intently. One was tall, muscular with dark hair and blue eyes. A scar ran across the bridge of his nose. The other was short, stocky with golden colored eyes shining with amusement, and a lot of chest hair. His smile was a bit disarming as he gave her a half bow.

"Varric Tethras at your service and this fine fellow is Hawke."

"Jenna" She murmured softly.

"Well Milady, would you mind telling us what you're doing in Varrics bed? And why in Andrastes name you're soaking wet?"

Brow raised in curiosity, Hawke folded his arms across his chest with a smirk as he awaited her answer. Lara had the feeling that beneath that warm smile and calm demeanor, this Hawke was a dangerous man.

"My boat was caught in a storm, it was strange. The sky turned green right before the lightning hit, I fell overboard into the water. I honestly thought I was going to drown. How I got here I have no idea."

She scratched the back of her head looking between the two men; the clothing they wore was nothing like she had ever seen outside a video game or something.

"If you don't mind my asking, where exactly am I? I have a feeling I'm not in Kansas anymore."

The two men looked at her oddly and she felt her face turning red. It was Hawke who spoke first.

"This is Kirkwall, in the Free Marches. I have no idea where this Kansas place is."

Varric grinned broadly.

"I'm sensing a story here."

Jenna blushed, the name sounded familiar to her.

"Kirkwall…That's not on earth is it?"

"Earth? Where in Thedas is that?"

Well that answered that question. This seemed all too familiar to her, like a memory on the edge of her mind that she couldn't quite touch.

"I don't think I'm from this world actually."

She admitted softly. Varrics golden eyes shone with excitement.

"Sounds like the beginning of a great adventure story."

Hawke and Jenna both turned to the look at the dwarf, eyebrows raised.

"What?" He asked innocently.

Hawke shook his head turning back to Jenna; she had her legs pulled up to her chest, a frightened look in her eyes. His heart went out to her, and he felt a sudden protective instinct well up inside of him, a thing he usually reserved for his family. It was strange that he would feel so concerned, so protective over a complete stranger. Even stranger was that fact that he trusted her, believed her.

"Well Milady, I'm guessing you will need a place to stay."

Before she could answer he took her hands in his.

"Then it's settled, you will stay with my family."

He didn't give her a chance to respond, Varric chuckled.

"Gamlin's gonna love that."

"After what he pulled, he doesn't have a choice"

Hawke reminded the dwarf.

Varric as it turned out was right; Gamlin was none too happy about their new houseguest. Hawke's mother Leandra however welcomed her with a kind smile and open arms. Bethany smiled taking her hands and squeezing them in a sisterly manner.

"I've always wanted a sister, but I got stuck with two brothers"

She looked down; a sad look taking over her features as she remembered Carver, Her heart still ached with missing her twin. Jenna looked over to Hawk, wondering if she had done something to upset Bethany. Hawk shook his head as though reading her thoughts.

"Our other brother Carver was Bethany's twin; He was killed while we were on our way here to the Free Marches."

"Oh, I'm so sorry; I didn't mean to bring up bad memories."

Bethany looked up, smiling once more.

"No, it's alright, anyway, it will be great to have another girl around, and another mage to boot."

Hawke's eyes widened as he looked at Jenna.

"Wait, what now?"

"What me? A mage? No no no, I don't know a thing about magic. Where I'm from, Magic doesn't even exist. "

Bethany however was quite adamant about the fact that Jenna was a mage. She took her hand and held it palm up.

"I can prove it, Close your eyes and imagine a little ball of energy. Focus on it, make it real. "

Jenna could see the determination in Bethany's eyes so she did as she was asked; she closed her eyes and got a picture in her mind of a little ball of energy. She tried to concentrate when she felt a little spark deep down inside of her. She tried to reach for it, and noticed that as she did her hand became warm. Jenna opened her eyes to see that indeed there was a bright white ball in her palm. Surprised and a little freaked out she jumped, dropping it in the process. The small mass of energy dissipated as soon as it hit the floor, leaving a large scorch mark in its wake. Gamlin practically growled at this.

"Great, another mage, and she can't even control her powers…Just don't destroy the place alright?"

Bethany stuck her tongue out at Gamlin before turning back to Jenna.

"Don't worry about it, I can teach you how to use and control your powers, and how to avoid the templar's."

Jenna looked from Bethany to Hawke and back again, a look of confusion in her bright blue eyes.

"What's a Templar? Are they dangerous?"

Hawke put a comforting hand on her shoulder.

"It seems we have more to teach you than I thought."

Jenna let out a deep tired sigh.

"Well, since I have no idea how I got here or how to get home, I guess I have plenty of time."


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter Two

Outside of learning all about her new home and getting used to her magic, Jenna learned that Hawke and Varric were planning an expedition into the deep roads. From what she could gather, the Deep Roads were a bunch of underground tunnels that lead to a bunch of abandoned Dwarven cities. Varric was certain that the expedition was going to make them rich, and Hawke needed the money to take care of his family, and to keep Bethany and now she supposed herself out of the Templar's sights. There was so much love between Hawke and his family; it was actually kind of nice to see. Her own home life had been…well let's just say some people should not have kids, and her mother was one of them. Jenna didn't want to freeload on their hospitality, she wanted to contribute any way she could, and the only problem was how.

An opportunity presented itself in the form of a former Grey Warden who had filed into the city with some other refugees from Ferelden. He had a map to the Deep Roads that they very much needed. Hawke asked her to look into it and she was glad to do it, anything to help. He supposed it should have been a safe enough task for her. She and Bethany learned that his name was Anders, and he was running a clinic in Darktown. "Just look for the lit lanterns, Anders will be within" they were told.

Darktown was as the name implied, Dark, with a musty smell to it; you could almost feel people's hopelessness. This was where the lost and forgotten souls came, the poorest of the poor. There were also some very proud people in Darktown, who thought that if you didn't like living there you should die to make room.

They found the clinic, just as they were told, lit lanterns shining out front. As they entered they spied a man with dirty blonde hair standing over an unconscious young boy, his hands shining with white magical light, his eyes squeezed tight in concentration. The boy's parents stood nearby looking very worried. The two women watched silently as the boy suddenly sat upright, gasping. As the boy's parents gathered up their child, the healer stepped back, staggering a bit. He turned away to lean against a pillar, the magic having taken a lot out of him. Jenna and Bethany stepped towards him when Jenna suddenly felt a strange pressure in the room, right before the man turned to them, staff raised high as though to attack.

"I have made this a place of healing and salvation, why do you threaten it?"

Jenna raised her hands in front of her in placation. By his reaction she had a hunch that this was there guy.

"Whoa there, calm down mister dramatic, were just here to talk, we need help getting to the deep roads. Are you Anders?"

He narrowed his eyes suspiciously at the two strange women.

"Did the Wardens send you to bring me back, I'm not going. Those bastards made me get rid of my cat. Poor Ser Pouncealot, he hated the Deep Roads."

Bethany looked a bit confused, and Jenna had to stifle a laugh.

"You had a cat named Ser Pouncealot? In the Deep Roads? "

"He was a gift, a noble beast. He almost got ripped in half by a Genlock once, swatted the bugger right on the nose, and drew blood too. Blighted Wardens said he made me too soft."

He smiled at that, sounding very proud of his pet.

"You came all this way, just to escape the Wardens?" Bethany asked skeptically.

Anders scoffed at that.

"You say that like it's a small thing, here there are no darkspawn, no Warden outposts, and a whole group of refugees to blend in with."

This talk was getting them nowhere, so Jenna decided to get them back on track.

"Look, we need those maps to the deep roads; they could help save people's lives. Will you please help us?"

Anders didn't look too convinced; in fact he looked slightly more irritated.

"I will die a happy man if I never have to think about the blighted Deep Roads again, you have no idea what I went through to get here, in fact I…"

He stopped as a thought struck him; He looked to the two women again.

"Although, a favor for a favor. Does that sound fair? You help me, and then I'll help you."

Jenna was skeptical, she didn't even know this man and he was already asking her for a favor. She had asked him for one first, but that was beside the point. She certainly wasn't going to say yes blindly.

"Depends on the favor, if I have to sacrifice a goat I'm out."

Bethany giggled; Anders however was a bit more serious. This guy was going to be a lot of fun.

"I have the maps you want, but there's a price. I'm here to help a friend, a mage; he's a prisoner in the wretched Gallows. The Templar's learned of my plans to free him. Help me get him safely out and my maps are yours"

Well, was that all she had to do, get past templar's. That should be no problem…Oh wait that was a big problem. Hawke had told her that it was safest to avoid Templar's, not walk right into the whole bleeding nest of them. She sighed, knowing she was going to agree. She couldn't just turn her back on someone who needed help. She almost wished he had asked her to sacrifice a goat.

"Of course well help, I would even without the maps. What do you want me to do?"

She heard a small gasp of alarm from Bethany behind her, but Anders seemed overly relieved.

"I welcome your aid; I sent word for Karl to meet me in the Chantry after dark. Meet us there and I will assure we all walk out of there free. "

Bethany wasn't so sure of this plan, she grabbed Jenna's arm.

"Are you sure about this? We definitely don't want to anger the Templar's "

"Don't worry about it Beth, I'll go with Hawke and Varric, You'll be at home, where it's safe. I'm not going to bring you that close to a bunch of Templar's. "

Bethany wasn't convinced.

"It's not just me I'm worried about sister."

Jenna smiled; Bethany had taken to calling her sister. It made her feel good, like she was really part of a family. Her mom didn't exactly make her feel like she was family, or even wanted. It wasn't as though Jenna was totally alone, she did have her big sister, and they were born a year apart and were as thick as thieves. Back home, they only trusted each other, took care of each other, or rather her sister was always taking care of and protecting her. Where her sister was now though, well she didn't want to think about it. She turned her thoughts back to Bethany.

"It will be fine, I promise."

She turned and walked out of the clinic, Bethany just a step behind; she called to Anders over her shoulder.

"See you tonight Mister Dramatic."

As to be expected, Hawke was not exactly pleased with the whole idea, but they needed those maps. So of course naturally they went. When they arrived Anders was pacing outside the front of the Chantry. He looked over as they approached.

"I saw Karl go in a few minutes ago, but no Templar's. Are you ready to go inside?"

"These streets seemed pretty clear, let's just do this."

They entered the Chantry and Hawke never took his eyes off the mage. He didn't like the idea of sneaking into the Chantry, with an apostate, right under the Templar's noses. That was usually a one way ticket to the Gallows. Hawke would be damned if he lost Bethany or Jenna to the Templar's. Of course he had tried to talk her out of this insane idea, but in the end there was no dissuading her from giving aid to someone in need.

Up a short flight of stairs and towards the back of the Chantry they found Anders friend Karl. He had his back to them and both Jenna and Hawke could feel something off.

"Anders, I knew you would never give up"

There was something wrong with his voice, it was monotone, emotionless. Anders seemed to pick up on this as well, he stepped towards his friend.

"Karl, what's wrong? Why are you talking like…"

Karl turned around to face them, his eyes were flat, emotionless, and there was a sunburst mark on his forehead. Anders stepped back, a stricken look upon his face. Karl spoke again.

"I was too rebellious, like you, I had to be made an example of. How else will mages ever master themselves? You will understand soon."

All of a sudden there was Templar's surrounding the group, giving them no escape. Hawke cursed under his breath. Jenna moved instinctively closer to Hawke and Varric reached back, keeping a hand on Bianca, just in case.

"This is the mage I spoke of"

So, Anders friend had sold them out after all, Jenna mentally kicked herself for being too trusting. Damn it! Suddenly that pressure was back, the same one she had felt in Anders clinic. This time around it was a stronger feeling than before. Her eyes turned to Anders where he had fallen to his knees on the floor; his body began to shake as he looked up, his eyes now glowing a bright blue. There was a strange energy surrounding him. Jenna had to step back as Ander stood up, gaze focused on the Templars.

"You will never take another mage as you took him."

His voice boomed, but it wasn't just his voice. It seemed to be two voices coming out of Anders mouth. He motioned to the Templars and suddenly they were all flung backwards. That is when all hell broke loose. Jenna was at a loss in all this chaos, she wanted to help but, she didn't even have a weapon. Hawke pulled her behind him as he fought off his share of the Templars. It wasn't as if she was helpless, but these were men in armor with very big swords. Bethany hadn't exactly taught her any offensive spell either, which would have been nice in this situation.

When the fight was over, and the Templars were all felled Anders seemed himself again. He walked over to his friend Karl, who was looking around, confused. It was as though he had just woken up.

"Anders, what did you do? It's like you brought a piece of the fade into this world."

"I wanna know the same thing"

Jenna remarked crossing her arms over her chest. Anders didn't seem to hear as his focus was still on his friend. Karl spoke again.

"I had almost forgotten what that's like."

Hawke wasn't buying it.

"So much for being tranquil, did you set us up?"

"No, I… It's as if the fade is inside Anders, shining like a sun. You need to kill me, do it quickly before I forget again."

Anders shook his head in denial, and Jenna felt sorry for him at that moment.

"Can't we do something to help? Isn't there a way to cure him?"

Anders laughed harshly at the idea.

"Can you cure a beheading? The Tranquil are cut off from the fade for good, there's nothing left to fix."

"Anders, you have to do it. I can't go back to that…please."

Karl was begging and Jenna could see the indecision on Anders face, was he actually thinking of killing his friend? Hawke sighed deeply behind her. She knew he was thinking that this could be Bethany.

"Do it" He said softly.

"My sister always said she would rather die than be tranquil"

Anders pulled a small dagger from his robes as he approached Karl, he gripped it tightly.

"Please hurry, I can feel myself slipping"

Karl was begging, there was desperation in his voice.

"I'm sorry."

"Anders, why are you looking at me like that?"

The emotionless voice was back.

"I am so sorry Karl."

The words were so soft Jenna wasn't certain she had heard them as Anders stuck the dagger in Karl's chest, sending what was left of him to the Makers side. That is if you really believed all of that anyway. His shoulders were slumped as he headed towards the door.

"We should go, before more Templars come."

They followed him back to his clinic because of course, that's where the maps were. Jenna didn't want just the maps though, she wanted an explanation.

"So what happened back there? I'm no magic expert or anything, but I'm pretty sure that wasn't normal."

Anders scratched the back of his neck nervously.

"When I was in Amaranthine, I met a spirit of Justice trapped outside the fade. We became friends. He saw the injustices Mages suffer and he wanted to help."

Hawks hand went to his sword.

"How is that different from a Demon exactly?"

Anders sighed, thinking about how to explain.

"Just like Demons embody our sins, there are Spirits who embody out virtues, like Compassion, Fortitude, Justice."

"and that makes your eyes glow?"

This whole thing was making Jenna's head spin.

"He needed a body, I offered him mine. Although now you can't tell where he starts and I begin. We wanted to make the world a better place for mages, but I guess I had too much anger in me. It changed him; he was no longer a spirit of Justice, but a force for Vengeance."

Hawke seemed on edge with his confession, but Jenna relaxed a bit. It must have been very hard for him to admit to all of that, especially with the fear most people have of demons. There was something sad in him that made her want to reach out to him.

"We can't always know the outcome of our decisions; we can only make them with an open heart."

Anders smiled at her kind words.

"Kind wise and beautiful, you must have made a deal with a demon yourself."

Jenna felt herself blush, and Anders smile widened.

"I didn't expect anyone to be so understanding of my secret. My maps are yours, as am I if you wish me to go with you into the Deep Roads."

Jenna smiled and the three of them headed back home to Lowtown.

"You know, he doesn't seem like such a bad guy, and he's kinda cute."

She didn't realize Anders was watching her walk away, thinking the same thing.

Authors note***

So, not 100% happy, but I had to get it out there, I had intended to find Fenris first since I always do in the game, but I found myself going after those maps. Damn it Anders!


	3. Chapter 3

CHAPTER THREE

It was simply by chance that Jenna spotted the pendant. It had been lying on the floor between the bed and the storage chest. If she hadn't dropped the red ribbon she wore in her ponytail, she would never have seen it. It seemed a simple enough piece, gold with a large red gem in the center. It gave her a small shock as she picked it up, feeling magic thrumming within it. She stepped out into the main room where Hawke was just lounging. As she approached, she held up the pendant for his appraisal.

"I found this hiding on the floor by the bed, is it yours?"

Hawke took the pendant with one hand while slapping himself on the forehead with the other, laughing as he did so.

"Andrastes ass, I had totally forgotten about this thing. This witch saved us from a horde of Darkspawn when we were fleeing from Lothering. She made me promise to take this thing up Sundermount for her when we got here."

"You've been here an entire year and you still haven't done it?"

Hawke shrugged, pocketing the pendant, that cocky grin still on his face.

"Just slipped my mind, no time like the present though right?"

They gathered up Varric and headed up the Wounded Coast to Sundermount. The thing about the Wounded Coast is that it is the perfect place for bandits to hide out, and ambush unsuspecting travelers. That being said it came as no surprise to the three when they were ambushed by bandits because, well why the hell not. When the fight started Hawke was very much determined to keep Jenna out of it, he cursed himself for bringing a helpless thing like her to the Wounded Coast in the first place. Jenna soon realized why Hawke had seemed so dangerous when they had first met; he was cutting through these bandits like they were nothing. Soon Hawke was caught off guard by two of the bandits, leaving her open for an attack from a third. Her eyes widened and before Hawke could react she reacted quickly almost on instinct. Jenna dodged the blow, ducking and grabbing a dagger off a nearby corpse, before moving quickly behind her attacker and slicing his throat. Something seemed to come over her as she moved effortlessly through the thugs, as though she was dancing, hitting them before they even knew she was there. Hawke was so stunned he was nearly run through; fortunately he caught the blade at the last minute. When the fight had ended Hawke and Varric both looked at her, wide eyes, mouths agape.

"Where…How?"

Hawke couldn't seem to get the words out.

"I learned it in a dream"

Her words were almost too soft for the two to hear as she turned away from them, seeming deep in thought, almost sad.

"Musta been some dream."

Varric joked, hoping to lighten her mood. Jenna turned to them with a bright smile.

"Well, don't we have a job to do?"

"Right"

The two men spoke in unison before they once again headed for Sundermount. It was a little after midday when they reached their next obstacle. As they reached the crest of the hill they encountered two elves, neither of which appeared very friendly. The man held a sword, the woman a bow, each of them had tattoos marking their faces. Blood Writing, or Vallaslin, as she would later learn it was called. The male stepped forward, hand on his weapon threateningly.

"Run along now _Shem_, Your kind is not welcome among the Dalish."

Hawke stepped forward, hands raised placating.

"We don't want any trouble; we just came to see someone"

"Don't be absurd, there's nothing here for any humans."

The Dalish man sneered at the intruders using the word human as though it was an insult.

"Were looking for someone named Marathari?"

"How do you know that name?"

The woman stepped forward in front of the man.

"Wait, these are the ones the Keeper spoke of."

"Shemlen? I thought they'd be an elf."

"Go ahead; the Keeper has been waiting for you."

The male narrowed his eyes but stepped aside for them, allowing them to pass.

"Cause any trouble, and you will certainly meet our blades."

Well, they certainly seemed like a friendly bunch; Jenna looked all around her, trying to take in everything at once. She had never been to an Elven camp before. There were Aravels scattered around, which looked to her like gypsy caravan wagons. The elves they past stopped when they saw them, looking on in suspicion. Must have an issue with humans, Jenna guessed. More towards the center of the encampment next to a campfire stood an older woman, white hair tied up into a tight bun. She stood as though in thought, or perhaps waiting for someone. From the look on Hawke's face, it was rather obvious he just wanted to get this over with; he stepped up towards the fire.

"Keeper Marathari? I was asked to give this to you."

Hawke handed over the amulet to the woman as she turned to look at them, no suspicion, nothing malicious in her eyes. They seemed to e very kind eyes that had seen much more than any of them could ever remember.

"Andaran atish'an travelers, I am Keeper Marathari, Come let me look at you."

She took Hawke's hands in hers, searching his eyes.

"There is truth in your eyes, very rare for a human."

Jenna tried to stifle the giggle that threatened to escape her, but the soft sound caught the attention of the Keeper causing her to turn to Jenna, a knowing smile on her face.

"Asha'bellanar has been waiting for you child."

Jenna took a step back; shaken, unsure what the hell this lady was talking about, Hawke stepped in front of her protectively sensing that she was becoming uncomfortable with this conversation, for that Jenna was grateful.

"Yah well, consider it delivered, So…"

The keeper cut him off before he could finish.

"I'm afraid your task is not yet done, you must take this amulet to the top of Sundermount and give it a Dalish rite for the departed."

"You're going to teach us this ritual I assume?"

She shook her head, her smile turning sad.

"I will send my first with you, She will see it gets done, and when you have completed the ritual, I must ask that you take her with you back to the city."

"Why? I mean that just seems kind of weird doesn't it?"

Jenna couldn't help but ask. She wasn't keen on drawing attention to herself, but curiosity often got the better of her.

"It is her wish, and I must grant it. You will find Merrill at the start of the trail going up the mountain."

Before Hawke could respond, Jenna was on her way in the direction that the keeper had pointed out. Something about this whole thing seemed odd, and that just made her more interested in meeting this Merrill. As she got closer she could feel the soft thrum of magic being used, and up ahead she saw the source. An elf knelt down near the trail leading up the mountain, her attention focused on something in front of her. She had short brown hair with a braid on one side and seemed rather petite, even for an elf. Jenna stepped on a twig snapping it in half, the sound alerting the elf to her presence. She turned to them with a pair of big green eyes, and all Jenna wanted to do at that moment was hug her. She just looked so darn cute. She smiled shyly to the group.

"Oh, you must be the ones the keeper told me about, Aneth ara."

Suddenly her expression changed to one of embarrassment.

"I'm so sorry, I didn't ask you your name, unless, it's not rude to ask a human there name is it? I'm Merrill, which you probably already know. I'm rambling, sorry. "

Hawke couldn't help but chuckle at the small elf.

"You're going to have to work harder than that to offend me, I'm Hawke, and this is Jenna and Varric."

"Thank you, I'm afraid I'm not experiences with your kind. Anyway, your task is for Asha'belanar. It isn't wise to make her wait,"

They made their way up the trail, Jenna and Merrill chatting back and forth, there was a lot Jenna wanted to know about the Dalish, and Merrill wanted to know more about Kirkwall. As they came close to the first sharp turn in the trail Jenna stopped dead, looking around curiously. She could feel something wrong in the air. Merrill, noticing the sudden quiet looked to her new friend. The ground beneath their feet began to tremble as bodies, walking corpses began rising from the earth. Blue eyes widening, a scream was stuck in Jenna's throat. Her paralysis did not last long as suddenly she was in the midst of battle fighting her way through the corpses, striking them down as she did the bandits. At her side Merrill was fighting with ice and lightning. When the fight had ended Hawke looked over to Merrill questioningly.

"The Keeper didn't tell us you were a mage."

"All Keepers know a bit of old magic, the stories tell us that once, all Elvhen had the gift, but like so many things it was lost."

Her gaze turned sad and Jenna felt for her. Grinning she wrapped her arm around Merrill's shoulder, startling the young elf.

"Who cares what she is, she kicked some major ass."

"I didn't kick anybody, I used my magic…oh, you don't mean literally."

Jenna laughed and the group continued up the mountain, aside from the occasional corpse, demon and giant spider, it was actually a rather uneventful trip. As they found themselves exiting the Sundermount cave they came across another problem, a magic barrier was blocking their way to the graveyard where they were to perform the right. Merrill approached the barrier carefully.

"I can open the way, wait a moment."

She took a small knife from her belt and slid the blade across her palm, drawing blood. With that she sent out a wave of energy and destroyed the barrier. Hawke was less than pleased with this.

"Blood magic." He growled.

"Yes, it was blood magic, but the Spirit helped us didn't it?"

"Oh sure, Demons are very helpful, at least until they take your mind and turn you into an abomination."

Hawke said sarcastically. Merrill still couldn't be swayed however.

"Well, that won't happen to me. I know what I'm doing. Now let us finish this task; Asha'belanar isn't known for her patience."

There were piles of stones scattered all over the graveyard, small boulders that seemed to be acting as tombstones perhaps. Jenna wasn't sure, what she did know what that something about this place put her on edge. There was definitely a chill in the air. Merrill sighed sadly.

"During the days of Arlathan, the ancient elves came here to sleep. Uthenara they called it, the endless sleep. Well they don't sleep so peacefully anymore."

The veil was thin here; meaning demons could slip through and possess the bodies of the dead, so of course there were more corpses to fight. After they had fought their way through them and the Arcane Horror that had appeared with them, they approached the alter where Hawke lay down the amulet. Merrill approached next and began to speak, reciting a few choice words. As soon as the last word left her lips, the amulet shattered, and in its place stood a woman wearing too tight armor and white hair. Her eyes were a bright yellow, almost like a cat. She took a deep breath and smiled. Merrill immediately bowed.

"Andaran atish'an, Asha'bellanar."

She glanced at Merrill curiously.

"One of the People, I see, so young and bright. Do you know who I am, beyond that title child?"

"I know only a little."

"Then stand, the people bend their knees too quickly."

She then turned to Hawke.

"It's so nice to see someone who keeps there side of a bargain, I almost expected my amulet to wind up in a fisherman's pocket."

Hawke crossed his arms with a smirk

"Nobody wanted to buy it, maybe because it had a witch inside."

Flemeth chuckled at that.

"Just a small piece, but it was all I needed. Just a little insurance should the inevitable occur."

Her attention turned to Jenna, and suddenly she felt very uncomfortable, the witched eyes looked as though they could see inside her.

"and here's the little dreamer now, half of a greater whole. Sadly your journey has just begun child, fate has bigger things for you."

This old woman definitely saw a lot more than she should, but Jenna still wasn't sure what her words meant.

"Who are you?"

"I am a fly in the ointment, I am a whisper in the shadows, I am also an old old woman. More than that you need not know."

"You have plans I take it?" Hawke asked.

She approached them with a knowing grin.

"Destiny awaits us all dear boy, we have much to do. Before I go, I would give you a bit of advice. We stand upon the precipice of change; the world fears the inevitable plummet into the abyss. Watch for the moment, and when it comes, do not hesitate to leap. It is only when you fall, that you can learn whether you can fly."

Hawke scoffed at that

"Cheap advice coming from a dragon."

"We all have our challenges."

She responded before turning to Merrill.

"As for you child, step carefully, no path is darker than when your eyes are shut,"

"Ma serannas Asha'bellanar."

"Now the time had come for me to leave."

She looked to Hawke once again.

"You have my thanks, and my sympathies."

She turned from the group, stepping to the edge of the Cliffside, magic surrounding her form as suddenly the woman was gone and in her place a great dragon. The dragon took no more notice of them as it spread its wings and flew off into the horizon. Jenna let out a breath she wasn't aware she had been holding.

"Is it just me or was that woman one brick short of a building."

That got a chuckle from Varric and Hawke; Merrill looked at her blankly, clearly not understanding the term. They made their way back down the mountain to let the Keeper know what had happened and that there debt was paid. The Keeper thanked them and looked to Merrill.

"It's not too late to change your mind Da'len."

Merrill frowned at the Keeper, a little frustrated.

"Keeper, we've been over this, you will never approve of what I'm trying to do."

She turned to Hawke and Jenna.

"Let's go, I'm eager to leave."

She Hawke and Varric made their way towards the city, when the Keeper gently grabbed Jenna's arm.

"Please, keep an eye on Merrill for me."

She could see from the emotion in Marathari's eyes that she truly cared for Merrill. Jenna placed a gentle hand over the Keepers.

"I will, no harm will come to her, I promise."

The Keeper gave her a grateful smile.

"You coming kid?" Varric called out.

"Coming."

She gave the Keeper one last look before she ran to catch up with her friends.


End file.
